http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/nov/...

NAPLES DAILY NEWS
Collier school district requesting refund from Office Depot amid overcharging allegations

By MATT CLARK
Posted November 3, 2009 at 11:30 a.m.



Collier County School District officials are asking for a refund from Office Depot, the company facing allegations of overcharging numerous local government agencies.

Like their counterparts at the Lee County School District to the north, it only took them a year and a half to ask.

"As part of the district’s investigation and due diligence, we will see whether a credit is due the School District of Collier County and pursue it internally," Landon said in an e-mailed statement.

The revelation came in response to the Daily News asking why Collier district officials had waited so long to seek the tens of thousands of dollars in relief it may be eligible for, even though it was aware of the allegations made against the contract it was purchasing from.

It also follows an announcement made last week by Lee County School District Superintendent James Browder that he has launched a full investigation into his district's Office Depot purchases. The Lee district's purchasing director also suddenly resigned last week.

All of these actions followed Fort Myers resident and former Office Depot employee David Sherwin coming forward in April 2008 with multiple allegations of overcharging and fraud against the company, which is currently being investigated by which is currently being investigated by seven state and four federal agencies.

Among his many allegations, Sherwin asserts the company fraudulently sold a more expensive pricing plan as a cost savings to more than 10,000 agencies across the country, including at least eight in Collier and Lee counties.

As such, following the statement by Sirko indicating the district chose not to investigate or seek a credit for the pricing switch, the Daily News attempted to schedule a face-to-face interview with Sirko.

The meeting was scheduled, and then Landon said the district could not allow the interview to occur due to "pending litigation," without elaborating.